“Alcopop” beverages consist of a blend of an alcoholic spirit such as vodka or white rum and a still or carbonated mixer such as water, tonic or fruit juice. They also contain a large amount of artificial additives like flavourings, colourings and chemical stabilisers, which can adversely affect or compromise the pure taste of the mixer. The same is also true for some types of non-alcoholic beverages where a flavoured concentrate is blended with a still or carbonated mixer such as water, tonic or lemonade.
Beverage bottles having inner and outer containers for holding separate liquids are already known. For example, British Patent 1279226 discloses a beverage bottle having an outer bottle 1 and a straight-sided glass tube 2 for holding a flavoured concentrate or syrup. The tube 2 rests on a support 3 provided in the base of the bottle 1 and is secured in the mouth of the bottle by a conical attachment 5. The space outside of the tube 2 holds a mixer such as soda water. The open end of the tube 2 and the mouth of the bottle 1 lie substantially in one plane and can be closed by a single crown cap 8. When the crown cap 8 is removed, the contents of the tube 2 and the bottle 1 can be poured into a glass so that a flavoured soda water is obtained.
The separate liquids are normally mixed to create the final “alcopop” or non-alcoholic beverage by pouring the entire contents of the beverage bottle into a glass in a single action. This means that the volume of the inner container and the volume between the inner container and the outer container must be chosen so that the correct amount of alcoholic spirit or flavoured concentrate and mixer end up in the glass. However, it is now common for the separate liquids to be consumed directly from the beverage bottle. This imposes a further requirement on the design of the beverage bottle because the ratio of alcoholic spirit or flavoured concentrate to mixer must be the same for each mouthful. In other words, the rate at which the alcoholic spirit or flavoured concentrate and mixer are dispensed through the mouth of the beverage bottle must be carefully controlled. If the rate is not controlled then the consumer may find that they have drunk all of the mixer but that some of the alcoholic spirit or flavoured concentrate is still left, or vice versa.